Make a Wiki


Planning

Choose a unique name for your wikispace. Think of a few different ideas - many names are already taken!
Consider colors you might want to use on your pages, type, and links.
Do you want a small picture, graphic, or logo on your site? You can use a jpg, png, or gif, recommended size: 140 x 48 pixels.
Plan other documents and links that you might want to add to your site.

How do I create a Wikispaces account?

  1. Go to http://www.wikispaces.com
  2. In the "Join Now" box, put in your username, password, e-mail address, and, optionally, wiki name.
  3. Click "Join" and you're done. If you've chosen to create a wiki, you will be taken straight to your new wiki.

To get a free educator upgrade, go to Manage Wiki, About, Subscription, Upgrade Here, go to the bottom of the page. Click on the link beneath "Request a Complementary Upgrade to Plus for K-12 Educators.

How do I customize my theme?

  1. Go to "Manage Wiki."
  2. Click on "Look and Feel."
  3. In the Theme section, there is an option to "Change or make a new theme."
  4. You can either choose from Pre-Made Themes, or you can Make a New Theme from scratch or based on a pre-made theme.
  5. You can change the color of the background, menu, text, and links. Click on the color code beside the word designating the area you want to change, then click on a color on the color wheel. When you finished with color changes, click "Apply".
  6. Once you have made changes to the theme, click "Save."

How do I change the wiki's background color?

  1. Go to "Manage Wiki."
  2. Click '"Look and Feel."
  3. In the "Colors" section in the page, you can pick your desired color for your background, wiki menu, text, and links.
  4. Click the "Save" button.

How do I change the wiki logo?

For a wiki that you've created, you can change our funny little bonsai tree logo as follows:
  1. Click "Manage Wiki" in the left sidebar of your wiki.
  2. Go to "Look and Feel."
  3. In the "Logo" section in the page, click the "Browse" button.
  4. Browse your hard drive for the image you want to use (jpg, png, or gif, recommended size: 140 x 48 pixels).
  5. Click "Save."

Add a page

  1. Click on Add Page
  2. Type in the name of your new page. Pick a short name - page names will wrap to the next line in the navigation bar if the name is long.

How do I edit a page?

Each editable page on Wikispaces has an "Edit This Page" button at the top of the page. Sometimes the button will look slightly different or be in a different place but it should always be easily recognized. Click on this button to bring up the page editor. The page editor allows you to add text and pictures to a page and to format that page.

How can I format text?

When you are in the Edit mode for a page, you will see options on the toolbar at the top of the page. You can bold, italicize, underline, and bullet text; format text in various headings; or add a horizontal line break to your page. You can also change the font, color, alignment, or size of your text.

Can I change the color or size of text on my wiki page?

Wikispaces gives you the ability to format the font, color, and size of text on your page as well as to align text. To do so,
  1. Click "Edit This Page."
  2. Highlight the text you wish to change
  3. Go to the text formatting icon in the toolbar
  4. Here you will have the option to change the font style, font size and color, the background color for the font, or the alignment of the text.

How do I add a symbol to my page?

If you would like to add a special character to the page, such as a Euro sign € or superscript number ⁷, click "Edit This Page" and click on the Special Character icon in the toolbar.

How do I add or remove a link on my page?

  1. Click "Edit This Page."
  2. Highlight the text you wish to link and click the earth icon in the toolbar to add a new link.
  3. Another window will come up with an option to create a link to a page in your wiki or to another website or wikispace. If you create a link to a page which hasn't yet been edited, the page name will be red. If the page already exists, the page name will appear green.
  4. To remove a link in the visual editor, put the cursor on the link, or highlight the link, and hit the broken link earth icon

How do I edit a link already on my page?

  1. Click "Edit This Page."
  2. Double click the link you wish to edit.
  3. The link tool will pop up and you can change your link there.

How do I add an Image or File to My Page?

  1. Click the image icon which looks like a tree in a box.
  2. Use the "Upload New File" or "External Image URL" dialog to select the image or file you wish to put on your page.
  3. Total file space allowed on an educator's site is 2 GB. Each file cannot be larger than 20 MB. If you have a free site and do not have the educator's upgrade then each file cannot exceed 10 MB.
  4. Put the cursor at the position on the page where you wish to put the image or file.
  5. Double click the image or file to put it on the page.

How do I resize images I have placed on my wiki?

  1. Click "Edit This Page."
  2. Click on the image you'd like to change.
  3. White squares will appear the edges of the photo. Click on a white square and drag it to resize the photo.

Troubleshooting

I'm having problems creating my account.

Try the following things:
  1. Username: Make sure your username is at least 3 characters in length, and only contains letters, numbers, underscores _, or dashes -. Also, we have a large number of accounts on Wikispaces, so many combinations of first names, last names, and initials are already taken. If your original username doesn't work, try changing it to make it unique.
  2. Password: Your password must be at least 6 characters in length.
  3. E-mail Address: Each e-mail address may only be used for one Wikispaces account. If you already have an account on Wikispaces, create your new account with a new e-mail address.
  4. Wiki Name: Wiki names can only contain letters, numbers, or dashes -. Note that your wiki name cannot have "wikis" in it. e.g. Family Trips is not a valid wiki name. FamilyTrips is a valid wiki name.
If you have created your account correctly, you will be taken to your wiki when you click "Join."

When I log in and go to my wiki, I still show up as a "guest."

There are a few things that could be causing this problem.
1. Make sure the clock on your computer is correct, i.e. within a few minutes of real time and in the right timezone.
2. Make sure your browser is accepting our cookies.
3. Do you have a firewall on your computer or your network? Check to make sure it is not blocking our cookies.
4. Clearing your browser's cache may also help.
If you still have problems or need assistance, please send us an e-mail at help@wikispaces.com

While editing a page, I get an autosave draft error.

Sometimes when editing a page, you might get the following error message: "We are unable to restore your session. Autosaving of your drafts has been disabled, and you will not be able to use the image tool."
Below are some possible causes and fixes for this error:
1. The Javascript didn't load correctly for the page and it is now cached incorrectly. Try clearing your browser's cache and reloading the page.
2. While you were editing a page, the browser crashed and wasn't able to receive material correctly. Try closing your browser, updating it to the latest version, or switch to a different browser.
3. The network you are on is unable to connect. While you are editing a page, different requests are made to our servers. If the request fails four times in a row, this error message appears. Check to see if there is something slowing down your network.
4. If the problem is consistent, the security settings of your browser might be the problem. If you are using Internet Explorer 7, this error could occur if your browser security is set to "High." See if lowering your settings to "Medium High" resolves the problem.
If you have any questions or need assistance, let us know at help@wikispaces.com

My files don't seem to be uploading to my Wikispace.

There could be several things causing this problem.
  1. What is the size of your file? Each wiki has a different file upload limit, based on its subscription plan. Make sure your file is within the specified size limits.
  2. Check with your network administrator or local IT person to see if there are any limits in place on your ability to upload files
  3. If these don't resolve your problem try our alternate upload method. Go to "Manage Wiki," then "Files." Click "click here to use our single file upload tool." Try uploading your file using the single file upload tool.
If you still have difficulties, drop us a line at help@wikispaces.com